RCU to Facilitate Hour of Code Events

The Research and Curriculum Unit at Mississippi State University will facilitate Hour of Code events for three Mississippi school districts this December.

As part of the RCU’s efforts to assist the Mississippi Department of Education expand computer science to every school in the state, the events planned for Calhoun County School District, McComb School District and Quitman School District are expected to directly impact more than 300 students.

Dubbed “the largest learning event in history,” schools across Mississippi, the U.S. and the world will participate in the Hour of Code during Computer Science Education Week, which runs Dec. 4-10.

The Hour of Code began as a one-hour introduction to computer science designed to demystify the coding process, show anyone can learn the basics of coding and boost participation in the field of computer science. HourOfCode.com offers hundreds of one-hour activities for students as young as kindergarteners, and those activities require no experience and can be run on computers, tablets and smartphones.

Students will participate in hands-on activities during the school day, while community members will have the opportunity to learn more about computer science in the evening. School administrators and counselors will also learn how they can incorporate computer science into course offerings for the next school year.

The event, organized by the nonprofit Code.org and more than 100 other groups, is a global movement built on the foundation that today’s students are ready to learn the critical skills needed for success in the 21st century.

Although technological advancements are rapidly reshaping industries across the world, less than half of all schools teach computer science. There are more than 500,000 open computing jobs in the U.S., but only 60,000 computer science graduates emerge each year. Women and minorities are also underrepresented in computer science classes and many tech industries.